Moving between states / North Carolina

Flag of TennesseeTennesseetoFlag of North CarolinaNorth Carolina, CNA

Moving from Tennessee to North Carolina as a certified nursing assistant

What a certified nursing assistant licensed in Tennessee has to do to work in North Carolina, what the move does to your pay, and who in North Carolina is hiring from out of state.

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Tennessee certificate stays on the Tennessee Department of Health, Nurse Aide Registry; to work in North Carolina you apply to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Nurse Aide I Registry for reciprocity. It accepts an active certificate in good standing from another state; there is no retest if your record is clean. Most registries list you within two to six weeks.

What the move does to your paycheck

On a $60,000 salary North Carolina takes roughly $2,550 a year more than Tennessee does, because you are leaving a state with no income tax on wages.

SalaryTennessee state taxNorth Carolina state taxDifference a year
$40,000$0$1,700-$1,700
$60,000$0$2,550-$2,550
$90,000$0$3,825-$3,825

Rough figures for a single filer: exact in the flat-rate and no-tax states, approximated at 70% of the top bracket in the progressive ones. Property and sales tax are not in it.

RN and LPN: Tennessee to North Carolina

Works on day one. Both Tennessee and North Carolina are in the Nurse Licensure Compact. A multistate RN or LPN licence from Tennessee is valid in North Carolina the day you arrive. Once North Carolina is your primary residence, apply there for a North Carolina multistate licence; most boards allow 30 to 60 days.

Electrician: Tennessee to North Carolina

Reciprocity likely. North Carolina licenses electricians at state level through the North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors, and The state licenses electrical contractors in classes; journeymen are not licensed at state level. Limited contractor reciprocity with neighbouring states. Your Tennessee licence comes from the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors, a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.

CDL: Tennessee to North Carolina

Transfers at the DMV. A commercial driver's licence transfers like any licence: within 30 days of becoming a North Carolina resident you surrender the Tennessee CDL at a North Carolina driver licence office, pass the vision test, pay the fee, and your endorsements carry over. A hazmat endorsement needs a fresh TSA threat assessment in North Carolina. Your driving record follows you through the federal CDLIS system.

No statewide program in North Carolina pays people to move in. Towns sometimes list an offer through MakeMyMove, and employers in short-staffed trades pay relocation themselves; ask for it in writing before you accept.

Openings filed in North Carolina

169 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by North Carolina employers who could not fill them locally.

Your own route from Tennessee to North Carolina

Tell us your trade and your licence. We write the steps for your case, check the job offer for scams, and keep your resume ready for North Carolina employers.

Plan my move to North Carolina

Same move, by trade

RN or LPN: Tennessee to North Carolina · Electrician: Tennessee to North Carolina · Truck driver: Tennessee to North Carolina · All licences: Tennessee to North Carolina

From Tennessee to the states next to North Carolina

Virginia (progressive, top rate 5.75%) · Georgia (flat 5.19% state income tax) · South Carolina (progressive, top rate 6.2%)

To North Carolina from the states next to Tennessee

Kentucky · Virginia · Georgia · Alabama · Mississippi · Arkansas · Missouri

Everything about working in North Carolina · All moves between states · All 50 states

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